Arthur Fery’s return to competition on home soil for the first time since his glorious summer at Wimbledon took place on a different surface, in a completely different format and on the opposite side of London, but the emotions it generated were all the same as the British No 1 led his team to a 2-0 lead over Ecuador by defeating Álvaro Guillén Meza 7-5, 6-0 in Great Britain’s Davis Cup qualifier tie in the Copper Box Arena. The victory for Fery, a Wimbledon semi-finalist, had been preceded by a solid debut for the British No 5, Toby Samuel, a late injury replacement for Cameron Norrie, who opened the tie by overcoming a nervous start to set the tone with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Ecuador’s No 1, Andrés Andrade. A successful opening day means Britain stands one win away from the Davis Cup Final 8, the decisive knockout stage of the competition, which takes place in Bologna between 18 and 23 November.
As a result of Norrie’s late withdrawal, a packed and forceful British crowd witnessed a completely new Great Britain singles lineup, with Fery’s singles victory in Poland last September the only Davis Cup match he or Samuel had played. Despite their inexperience, the pressure was all on their shoulders with the home team heavily favoured to defeat an Ecuador team without a player ranked inside the top 200 in favourable conditions. Still, no tennis competition springs surprises like the Davis Cup and the Ecuador team already showed that it should not be taken lightly.
They earned their place at this stage with a stellar 3-1 win against Australia in Quito on clay in February, winning all three live rubbers. An away tie in east London on indoor hard courts, however, is a completely different challenge. Last February, Samuel was ranked outside the top 1600 and was still competing on the lowest rung of the World Tennis (formerly ITF) Tour as recently as November.
He has been one of the fastest-rising players on the tour since then, winning an immense nine titles over the past year across all levels, including five ATP Challenger titles. As a result of qualifying and winning a round at the US Open, Samuel broke into the top 100 for the first time in his career this week, reaching a career high ranking of No 95 and deservedly earning his first Davis Cup call-up. Things did not start ideally for Samuel as he looked understandably nervous and tense on his debut, losing the first four games of the match.
As he gradually relaxed, Samuel began to dominate the underpowered Andrade with his big serve and forehand, winning 10 of the final 11 games of the match from 4-4 in set two. Ranked No 293, Guillén Meza was as high as 175 last year but has rarely played on hard courts since his professional debut in 2018, let alone won matches on the surface, compiling a 1-9 pro record on hard courts at all levels. Still, the 23-year-old hung tough in the first set, remaining solid against an unusually erratic and frustrated Fery who particularly struggled with his forehand.
At 5-5, 0-30, Fery looked tight but grinding through a long point with his defence and grit allowed him to settle down. He recovered to hold serve and began to overpower Guillén Meza from the baseline, immediately breaking serve to take the set. Fery closed out his first ever Davis Cup win as the number one ranked player in Britain by winning the final eight games to extend his team’s lead to 2-0 after the first day.
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